Ignorance

...I knocked on the door and as I stepped inside, the doctor greeted me...

"What's your problem, young man?"
"Having some backache" I answered, stretching my waist...

It was almost 4.30pm, as what I have heard so much about his talkative nature, he started talking from the problems of the youths, to my back, to his past, back to my back...and more on politics...

As he dwelt in his ramblings of politics...he popped a question...
"Do you think there is hope in Malaysia?"
"I don't know. Yes, I guess?" I shrugged.
"You know, nowadays, a lot of youths are ignorant." He sighed.

I felt uneasy as I felt I was one of those...

ignorance?

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...as I was chatting on MSN, I remembered typing

" ...I never liked politics"

ignorance?

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What did we learn about politics and government in school? I could hardly recall.

Possibly nothing useful?

In schools, we were only fed with knowledge of “civics” which is merely how the current organization is put together. The real subject, “government”? I doubt we had that. There must be something more to it.

I took American Politics in US in 2009. I remembered learning about politics philosophy. Thomas Hobbes, John Locke are some of the main philosophers that influenced the American politics we know of today.

Back to basics...Hobbes believed that people are driven by selfishness and greed. To avoid chaos, people should give up their freedom to a government that will ensure order. Such government should be strong and able to suppress rebellion.

Like Hobbes, Locke believed that human nature allowed men to be selfish. In a natural state all people were equal and independent, and everyone had a natural right to defend his “Life, Health, Liberty, or Possessions". He believed that the government had an obligation to protect these natural rights. But that was the only reason that the government existed, and if the people believed that the government was not fulfilling this task, they could overthrow him and find someone new.

What we saw happening in Egypt is exactly that. Government fails, people revolt.

Is this the only inevitable way? Opposition to such governments usually just brings on more violence. Is this the only way?

One can speak out in caution and need not actively support a government that does not serve ALL its people. Doing nothing illegal, it is yet possible, by simply withdrawing one's cooperation, to bring about an eventual reform. There are several governments in the world that are failing, and will ultimately fail, only because their people express their silent disagreement by simply not cooperating.

On the other hand, where a government is obviously working hard for ALL its people, rather than for some special interest group or insane dictator, one should support it to the limit.

But, above all and before all, you have to understand more about what a "government" really is, know what type of "government" you want and keep track of what your current government is doing.

ignorance?

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I finally got in terms with myself that there is no such thing as "ignorance is bliss" in this context. Instead, I find that a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing.



A government cannot bleed, it cannot even smile: it is just an idea men have. It is the individual person who is alive—you.